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Oolong · Taiwan high mountain
Alishan Oolong
ālǐshān wūlóng · 阿里山乌龙
A high-mountain Taiwanese oolong, rolled into jade balls and grown in the cool cloud forest of Alishan. Light, creamy and floral, with the buttery sweetness that altitude and mist coax out of the leaf.
- Region
- Alishan, Chiayi, Taiwan — 1,000–1,600 m
- Harvest
- Spring and winter; slow-grown at altitude
- Oxidation
- Lightly oxidised
- Cultivar
- Qingxin (green heart) oolong
In the cup
Lilac and fresh cream, sweet sugarcane and a soft, lingering floral finish — light-bodied and luminous.
What it gives
A clean, calming lift — light oxidation keeps it gentle, and the high-mountain leaf is smooth enough to drink all afternoon.
Alishan oolong is one of Taiwan’s celebrated high-mountain teas, gāoshān chá, grown on the misty slopes of the Alishan range in Chiayi at a thousand metres and more. Altitude is the whole point: the cool air and frequent cloud slow the leaf’s growth, thickening it and concentrating the sugars and amino acids that make the cup so creamy and sweet.
The leaf is a lightly oxidised, Qingxin cultivar oolong, rolled into tight jade-green balls that unfurl over many steeps. The style sits at the floral, green end of the oolong spectrum — close in spirit to a green Tieguanyin but with that distinct Taiwanese high-mountain signature: a buttery, milky body and a bright lilac aroma.
In the cup
Brew it gongfu — a full pot of rolled leaf, hot water, short steeps — and watch the tight balls open into whole leaves. The early infusions are floral and creamy; the middle steeps turn sweet and almost sugarcane-like. It is light-bodied but long-lasting, a tea to sit with through a quiet afternoon.
How to brew
Alishan Oolong
Water
90–95 °C
Leaf
7 g per 120 ml
Steep
30–50 s, many steeps
Vessel
Gaiwan or small pot
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